Township of Langley, BC, Wednesday, September 7, 2011:
The Langley Thunder got things off on the right foot in game one of the 2011 Mann Cup with a convincing 11-3 victory over the visiting Brampton Excelsiors. Brampton jumped out to an early lead with Jarrett Davis and Zach Greer scoring within the first 3 minutes. The quick goals weren't enough to quiet the energetic crowd at the Langley Events Centre or the hometown Thunder as the hometown team responded with two of their own in a span of 64 seconds from Kyle McEwen and Alex Turner.
The game looked as though it was going to see-saw back and forth when Dave Campbell of Brampton potted one just one minute later but the Thunder had other plans. Turner tied it up with his second and Andrew Potter added what would be the only insurance needed before the end of the first on the power play.
From there, the Thunder took over burying three in the second (Rob Van Beek, Jamie Lincoln, Athan Iannucci) and four more in the third (Athan Iannucci 2, Alex Turner 3, Jarrett Toll and Rob Van Beek 2) to send the local fans home happy after the first game in what is sure to be an exciting series. Brodie MacDonald got the win for the Thunder while John Edwards took the loss for the Excelsiors. Things are sure to look a little bit different tomorrow for Brampton as they are expected to have both Dan Dawson and Anthony Cosmo back in the line-up. Game 2 goes Thursday night at the Langley Events Centre at 7:45PM. Tickets are on sale at http://www.ticketmaster.ca (go to MANN CUP LINK on Left) or by calling 1-855-985-5000 (online sales end at 4PM) or by visiting the LEC Ticket Office anytime after 2pm on game days.